USD/JPY – Yen Flat on Mixed US Data

The Japanese yen has been listless all week and the lack of activity has continued on Thursday. In the North American session, USD/JPY is trading in the mid-117 range. On the release front, the only Japanese reading was the 30-year bond auction, which showed a yield of 1.46%. In the US, Unemployment Claims rose last week to 278 thousand but beat the estimate. Trade Balance missed expectations, coming in at $-46.6 billion.

In the US, Unemployment Claims rose to 278 thousand, up from 265 thousand in the previous release. Still, the reading beat the forecast of 287 thousand. On Wednesday, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change was well off expectations, falling to 213 thousand. The estimate stood at 224 thousand. We could see some stronger movement in gold prices on Friday, with the release of Nonfarm Employment Claims and the Unemployment Rate. Meanwhile, the trade deficit ballooned to $46.6 billion, compared to $39.0 billion a month earlier. This marked the largest trade deficit since May.

Earlier in the week, Japanese Average Cash Earnings rebounded in December, posting a strong gain of 1.6%. This marked a 5-month high, and points to stronger spending by the Japanese consumer. This was the only major event out of Japan this week, so US releases will have a magnified impact on the direction of USD/JPY.

USD/JPY for Thursday, February 5, 2015

USD/JPY February 5 at 15:00 GMT

USD/JPY 117.47 H: 117.55 L: 117.02

USD/JPY Technical

• USD/JPY has showed limited movement during the day. The pair tested resistance at 117.49 late in the European session.
• 117.49 continues to be busy. It is currently a weak resistance line. 118.69 is stronger.
• 116.69 is a strong support level.
• Current range: 116.69 to 117.49

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 116.69, 115.56, 113.64 and 112.41
• Above: 117.49, 118.69, 119.83, 120.63 and 121.69

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/JPY ratio is showing gains in long positions on Thursday, reversing the trend seen a day earlier. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the yen has posted small gains. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the US dollar moving to higher ground.

USD/JPY Fundamentals

• 3:45 Japanese 30-year Bond Auction. Actual 1.46%.
• 12:30 US Challenger Job Cuts. Actual 17.6%.
• 13:30 US Trade Balance. Estimate -38.2B. Actual -46.6B.
• 13:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 287K. Actual 278K.
• 13:30 US Preliminary Nonfarm Productivity. Estimate 0.3%. Actual -1.8%.
• 13:30 US Preliminary Unit Labor Costs. Estimate 1.3%. Actual 2.7%.
• 15:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate -119B.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.